Towards Zero Harm
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TOWARDS ZERO HARM – A COMPENDIUM OF PAPERS PREPARED FOR THE GLOBAL TAILINGS REVIEW
TOWARDS ZERO HARM – A COMPENDIUM OF PAPERS PREPARED FOR THE GLOBAL TAILINGS REVIEW
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BUILDING ORGANISATIONAL CAPACITY
CHAPTER XIV SUMMARY OF EXISTING
10. Stakeholder Engagement . Proactively engage key stakeholders on sustainable development challenges and opportunities in an open and transparent manner, effectively report and independently verify progress and performance. ICMM documents, including position statements and guidance, are available free of change on the ICMM website. 2.2 ASPECTS OF THE ICMM PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS RELEVANT TO THE SCOPE OF THE STANDARD ICMM Performance Expectations relevant to the scope of the Standard are described primarily in the ICMM Position Statement on Tailings Management. Requirements of the Standard related to community engagement are not directly addressed in this Position Statement but are explicitly addressed in other aspects of the ICMM Performance Expectations (see below). In addition, ICMM Performance Expectations related to water stewardship, summarised in below, are also relevant to tailings management. The ICMM Performance Expectations do not address technical design aspects related to tailings management. Instead, company members are expected to refer to technical guidance from the ICOLD, ANCOLD CDA, or to guidance from similar organisations relevant to the mine location. Tailings Management Governance The ICMM Position Statement on Tailings Management sets out expectations for company members. The Position Statement, which was released in 2016, commits company members to implement practices consistent with a Tailings Governance Framework (the Framework) so that the risk of catastrophic failure of tailings storage facilities is minimised. ICMM company members were expected to implement the commitments in this Position Statement by November 2018. The Position Statement pre-dates the updated Mining Principles and the introduction of the ICMM Performance Expectations. It addresses Principles 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 10. The Performance Expectations further commit company members to design, construct, operate, monitor and decommission tailings facilities using comprehensive, risk-based management and governance practices in line with internationally recognised good practice. Company members are expected to commit to implementing practices consistent with the Framework, in addition to meeting the Performance Expectations.
In February 2020, ICMM introduced its updated Mining Principles . All company members are expected to implement these Principles as a condition of membership. Performance Expectations were introduced for each Principle, defining the good practice environmental, social and governance requirements, with the goal of maximising benefits to host communities and minimising negative impacts to effectively manage societal challenges. The Mining Principles are an update to ICMM’s 10 Principles for Sustainable Development, first established in 2003. The Performance Expectations build upon these Principles and upon the work that ICMM has done since they were introduced to develop position statements and guidance to improve company member performance. 1. Ethical Business . Apply ethical business practices and sound systems of corporate governance and transparency to support sustainable development. 2. Decision-Making : Integrate sustainable development in corporate strategy and decision- making processes. 3. Human Rights . Respect human rights and the interests, cultures, customs and values of employees and communities affected by our activities. 4. Risk Management . Implement effective risk- management strategies and systems based on sound science, and which account for stakeholder perceptions of risk. 5. Health and Safety . Pursue continual improvement in the health and safety performance with the ultimate goal of zero harm. 6. Environmental Performance . Pursue continual improvement in environmental performance issues, such as water stewardship, energy use and climate change. 7. Conservation of Biodiversity . Contribute to the conservation of biodiversity and integrated approaches to land-use planning. 8. Responsible Production . Facilitate and support the knowledge-base and systems for responsible design, use, re-use, recycling and disposal of products containing metals and minerals. There are 10 Mining Principles:
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS FOR TAILINGS MANAGEMENT Charles Dumaresq * , Vice-President – Science and Environmental Management, Mining Association of Canada
• performance measurement and verification • external Inputs to the development and implementation of the standard • implementation of the standard • disclosure of performance against the standard. There are no existing standards for technical design considerations, although guidance is provided by several organisations such as the International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) and national/ regional organisations such as the Australian National Committee on Large Dams (ANCOLD) and the Canadian Dam Association (CDA). The guidance from these organisations is focused on tailings dams and containment structures and not on tailings management and tailings facilities more broadly. It is important to emphasise that while these organisations do not prescribe performance expectations, many regulatory authorities incorporate this guidance into various legal requirements (e.g. site-specific permits for tailings dams). This chapter does not provide summaries of existing technical guidance. Readers should refer to the websites of the above-listed organisations for information. 2. ICMM PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS 2.1 B ACKGROUND ON THE ICMM AND THE PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS The ICMM is an international organisation dedicated to a safe, fair and sustainable mining and metals industry. ICMM consists of 27 mining and metals companies and 38 regional and commodities associations.
1. INTRODUCTION When the development of the Global Industry Standard on Tailings Management (the Standard) was initiated, standards and guidance were already in place that describe various aspects of best practices related to tailings management. The scope of the Standard is broad, with requirements falling into three general categories: • tailings management governance • community engagement and public disclosure • technical design considerations. There are three existing standards that address the first two of these categories (tailings management governance, and community engagement and public disclosure). These are the: 1. International Council on Mining and Metals (ICMM) Performance Expectations 2. Mining Association of Canada (MAC) Towards Sustainable Mining ® ( TSM ® ) 3. Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA). This chapter provides an overview of each of these standards, including: • background information on the organisations and standards • scope of application • how the standards address performance related to: • tailings management governance • community engagement and public disclosure • water management, which is also relevant to tailings management
9. Social Performance . Pursue continual improvement in social performance and
contribute to the social, economic and institutional development of host countries and communities.
* Member of the GTR Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group
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